As a remedy for major IT projects that fail or underachieve, OMB has encouraged agencies to complete projects incrementally. In 2010, the office called for agencies to deliver functional parts of their major projects at least every 12 months, and later shortened it to every six months.
GAO auditors reviewed 89 major projects occurring at five departments: Defense, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs and Transportation. VA was the only department that actually abided by the every-six-months rule.
Agency officials told auditors that not all major projects should be able to deliver finished capabilities that often, and the report says that "these concerns have merit."
For IT projects that require agencies to build physical infrastructure, such as data centers, agencies have to acquire real estate, conduct environmental assessments and perform construction work. The prospects of producing something functional in the first six months of that process are slim.
"Until OMB issues realistic and clear guidance and agencies address the weaknesses in their incremental development policies, it will be difficult to deliver project capability more rapidly," it says.
A staff member from OMB's Office of E-Government acknowledged in discussions with auditors that the requirement is out of reach for some IT projects.
"However, OMB's guidance does not make this distinction. As a result, agencies may be confused," the report says.
For more:
- download the report, GAO-14-361 (pdf)
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Zach Rausnitz
Quelle/Source: Fierce Government IT, 14.05.2014
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